Peru electoral board keeps Guzman in race for April elections

LIMA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A special electoral board in Peru
on Wednesday opted not to bar "outsider" Julio Guzman's from
April elections, setting the stage for a likely battle between
him and longtime front-runner Keiko Fujimori.

The country's National Jury of Elections had blocked
Guzman's party from registering for this year's elections
because it did not fulfill a series of technical requirements,
which threatened to disqualify him.

But the Special Jury of Elections, tasked with approving
presidential candidates, said Guzman's party had amended the
errors and was now enrolled. It also cited Guzman's
constitutional right to take part in elections.

Guzman, a 45-year-old economist who climbed rapidly to
second place on pledges to take the country back from a corrupt
political elite, celebrated the decision from the highland
region of Cusco where he was campaigning.

Guzman, who was unknown to most voters months ago, has
tapped a well of support from Peruvians looking for someone new
in a race dominated by well-known but unpopular politicians.

He was the only candidate seen as virtually tying Fujimori
in a likely June runoff, according to an Ipsos poll Sunday.

Fujimori, the rightwing populist daughter of jailed
ex-president Alberto Fujimori, enjoys a double-digit lead over
Guzman but is not expected to garner the minimum 50 percent of
votes needed to win outright on April 10.

Guzman worked for the Inter-American Development Bank in
Washington for a decade and was briefly an official in the
government of President Ollanta Humala.

Humala cannot run for a second consecutive term and the
ruling party candidate is trailing far behind in polls.
(Reporting by Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino)